Psychoactive Saffron (Crocus sativus)

[Torsten]

And torsten have you noticed any depletion of serotonin the day/s after a big sargol sesh?

Didn't I post about my experience at EGA? I had quite a bit. Enough to make me fall over once I got out of the car. I ended up with a pretty naty hangover the next day. I am pretty sure it was just the saffron, but I was also dehydrated from leaving the electric blanket on max all night (fuck it was cold), so maybe that contributed to the headache. Can't say I felt depleted, but it was hard to tell cos I felt like crap.

It would be really interesting to hear more about the traditional use as potentiator in laudanum

Imagine if it could stretch your poppy pods by a factor of 2 or 3.......

naja - nice isn't it!?! I just love the stuff. I bought some of the cheaper stuff too, but it lacks the complex aroma. It's really a matter of you get what you pay for - at least in wholesale. I am glad I persisted with this, because it has such a rich cultural history and for some reason this is only now becoming apparent as we are rediscovering the recreational effects.

[onz]

hmmm I feel as though I wasted a good load of saffron. I swallowed a capsule of about a teaspoon of saffron and effects were/are very mild, VERY mild. 40 threads sublingualy gives MUCH more effect.

Apoth:

This herb is known to my father used in a tea as "makes you laugh until you die" at doses of about a teaspoon of high grade stuff.

Any more info on this apoth? I know nothing but the way torsten speaks of it I would assume heat would degrade the material. Only thing I can think of is the quik absorption is needed, and gives 'more' effects, like mushroom tea Vs whole mushrooms.

My own expectations have disapointed me...

[Torsten]

some people get the first wave of effects within about a minute of putting it in the mouth (before even swallowing once), which indicates oral obsorption is definitely a good route. But good to know that swallowing it is not an efficient one, because with larger amounts I tend to chew them a lot less and swallow much sooner, but don't seem to get the same effect as with smaller amounts kept in the mouth longer (by default). Maybe a highly concentrated tincture kept in the mouth for 10 minutes might be the way to get a stronger effect....

I am surprised that with so many stoners here no one has tried smoking it. I don't think it will work, but hey, it's worth a try.

[apothecary]

Sorry T, I did try it not long ago but forgot to report back until the thread was brought up again.

Conesworth smoked in a bong (est 50mg?) no effects noted apart from a beautiful saffron taste in the throat.

Combination with cannabis however had a marked differnece (doesn't that always seem to be the case? ), I somehow feel like the aroma is active on its own?

[apothecary]

Sorry onz repeating all of what I got, parents don't seem to know too much else about the topic...

Edited September 12, 2006 by apothecary

[dc]

Ive been mixing saffron with opiates of late with great success i would say im getting anywhere from 1.5 to 2 times the effects, ive also been distributing it to some opiate fiends i know and they have found that it is a definate potentiator, they also note that the opiate effect is slightly different to normal. Anywhere from .5grams to 1 gram has been taken before the opiate, less and i havent found much of an effect. I have been swallowing it whole as i find it difficult holding that amount in my mouth for any time, perhaps next time i will have a smaller dose held in the mouth before the opiate. I had previously held anywhere upto .5grams in my mouth for 10 or so minutes without much effect, this was without an opiate or any other type of intoxicant, i do abuse teh green erb a little too much to pick up subtle changes though.

Grape fruit juice works just as well if not slightly better from my experience. Ive actually had two seasoned opiate useres i know start hurling after drinking the grapefruit juice and continuing there opiate use as normal even after being warned.

[Tinkal]

At about 12:00 in the morning I ingested 1,5 gr of Saffron powder, cultivated in Greece/Kozani. One of the finest Saffrons. I was in my house alone and the temperature was about 25 C.

+ 20 Calmness and beauty comes in waves. Very discreetly and they end with smiles.

+ 35 Light nuisance in the stomach that after a little it disappearred completely.

+ 40 I decided to make a bath. The sense was amazing. All this action had been transformed in sensual art. It was the best way in order to I feel the attributes of crocus. My body corresponded in changes of cold and hot water. I could describe the feeling as hedonistic but not sexual. I began to wash myself slowly so that I can follow the needs of my body. I sat down in lotus position. I felt solitary beauty and happiness. Each part of my body, appeared to me unusually beautiful. I was impressed by the details of my hands and feet. The music without being heard differently, created the atmosphere that I wanted. The bath lasted 30 minutes.

+ 65 Prevails a sense of calm

+ 240 Slowly the attributes of crocus have been disappearred. Only thing that remained was a subtle type of joy and relaxation.

As a last note, I would like to say that further study of this plant's properties should be made. To date 1.5 gr is a safe daily amount, while 20 gr is given as a lethal dose and 10 grams can induce abortion (per Monographie der Kommision E; cf. Czygan 1989, 414). It's subtle feeling was described as sacred .

Indeed, Saffron as a cultivated plant in ancient and present Greece were used ritually and was regarded as sacred. Especially in ancient Minoan culture.

Also Saffron was sacred to the Goddess Hecate

[bigmac74]

I've only taken very small doses of saffron compared to those that have been noted in this thread, but I must say I think saffron reminds me of an MDMA afterglow.

[antecedent]

I remember learning about saffron in Minoan culture in ancient history classes during my HSC, they taught us about a number of murals that were found on Thera (Santorini), I think one was called 'the saffron gatherers' or something similar. Saffron and crocus flowers did seem to feature in their art quite a lot there, when I was looking into that to try to clarify what I remembered I read that traders wanted it because lots of cultures used it for its aphrodisiac properties.

I did find some saffron at a persian grocery store which seemed to be of fairly good quality for a quite reasonable price. It was definitely not yellow although it was very very dry and kind of crushed, so I couldn't really measure it in terms of threads. I'd estimate 1/5th of a gram of that chewed on for a while produced mild but still noticable effects.

Two first posts in a row. Huh.

[apothecary]

Ive been mixing saffron with opiates of late with great success i would say im getting anywhere from 1.5 to 2 times the effects, ive also been distributing it to some opiate fiends i know and they have found that it is a definate potentiator, they also note that the opiate effect is slightly different to normal. Anywhere from .5grams to 1 gram has been taken before the opiate, less and i havent found much of an effect. I have been swallowing it whole as i find it difficult holding that amount in my mouth for any time, perhaps next time i will have a smaller dose held in the mouth before the opiate. I had previously held anywhere upto .5grams in my mouth for 10 or so minutes without much effect, this was without an opiate or any other type of intoxicant, i do abuse teh green erb a little too much to pick up subtle changes though.

Grape fruit juice works just as well if not slightly better from my experience. Ive actually had two seasoned opiate useres i know start hurling after drinking the grapefruit juice and continuing there opiate use as normal even after being warned.

Good to see you about dc! When are we gonna catch you on the lab again? :D

[sobriquet]

How about growing your own?

I'm wondering whether these just produce one flower per bulb or multiple?

Given that you don't need many strands for only cooking; growing your own might be sensible.

Also since the orange is concentrated in the stamens ie. the picrocrocin; I am to understand that the safranal which is the psychoactive component may actually be more prevalent in the plant than just the stamen?

Perhaps the entire flower has much greater concentrations of the desired safranal? The orange dye is a 'waste product' when you are using it in an ETgen manner.

I'm going to get some bulbs when I can.

[apothecary]

I was under the impression that cultivation is difficult outside of climates dissimilar to its own... Tasmania is meant to be quite suitable I believe.

[Torsten]

How about growing your own?

They will grow in most mediteranean climate types.

Also since the orange is concentrated in the stamens ie. the picrocrocin; I am to understand that the safranal which is the psychoactive component may actually be more prevalent in the plant than just the stamen?

Perhaps the entire flower has much greater concentrations of the desired safranal? The orange dye is a 'waste product' when you are using it in an ETgen manner.

I am pretty sure I outlined this above: safranal acts on the serotonin system and crocin (the orange/red pigment) acts on the dopamine and norepinephrine systems

So, in fact both constituents are responsible for the effect.

The rest of the flower has little aroma, so I doubt there is a lot of safranal there. As it is also not red I presume no crocin there either.

[mescalito]

I mentioned sometime ago (last year??) of the analgesic effects of saffron smoked in a rollie.The ratio was as little as 5:1 baccy/saffron.

I've since tried to source some more at the lebanese grocer where I bought it from but he said he was having trouble getting herbs from his supplier.

It was a nice pinkish orange colour and ULTRA cheap...should've stocked up last year

[DreamingNagual]

I was under the impression that cultivation is difficult outside of climates dissimilar to its own... Tasmania is meant to be quite suitable I believe.

Heres the Tas-Saff website.

http://www.tas-saff.com.au/australian%20sa...%20growers.html

There was an article in yesterdays Sundays Examiner on a dude down here that sells bulbs

He grows his crocus in a mini stonehenge formation!

Interesting to note in the article he says,

"Saffron really does give you an inner glow.

You need a good dose and I am generous with it

but it is hard to be liberal because its so valuble."

Also, "You find Bumble bees still gorging themselves among the flowers.

"You shake them off but they seem to stagger and not be able to fly"

[Torsten]

"You find Bumble bees still gorging themselves among the flowers.

"You shake them off but they seem to stagger and not be able to fly"

That's why they are called BUMBLE bees

[DreamingNagual]

Hey T,

After checking the Examiner site, I cannot access the Story online.

And As I cannot bring myself to type up the whole thing

I will send you the Full Page story + Picture of Gardens If you like

Do I just send it to SAB

Also anyone else wanting a copy

can send me a PM so I know how many photocopies i need .

There has been quite a few articles lately

in the local paper about usefull obscure plants

They have a new guy that does the gardening section & he seems quite open

to sugesting "Alternative" Plants to be used as plants around the home.

Another recent story was on catnip, with a small reference at the end about

Smoking for Its Aparrent Mild High feeling & possible hallucinogenic effects

[Torsten]

Hey T,

After checking the Examiner site, I cannot access the Story online.

And As I cannot bring myself to type up the whole thing

I will send you the Full Page story + Picture of Gardens If you like

Do I just send it to SAB

That would be very much appreciated!

[ramon]

Crocus sativus L. in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized and placebo controlled trial

[PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH PHARMACOLOGICAL SOCIETY CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY SECTION 14–16 December 2004: University of Newcastle: The GlaxoSmithKline prize communication]

Akhondzadeh, S.; Noorbala, A. A.; Tahmacebi-Pour, N.; Kashani, L.

Psychiatric Research Centre, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Depression is a serious disorder in today's society with estimates of lifetime prevalence as high as 21% of the general population in some developed countries. As defined by the American Psychiatric Association, depression is a heterogeneous disorder often manifested with symptoms at the psychological, behavioural and physiological levels. Such patients are often reluctant to take synthetic antidepressants in their appropriate doses due to their anticipated side effects including inability to drive a car, dry mouth, constipation and sexual dysfunction [1]. Thus, there is a need for more effective and less toxic agents. Plants extracts are some of the most attractive sources of new drugs, and have been shown to produce promising results for the treatment of depression. In Asian medicine and in particular Persian traditional medicine, saffron is used to treat menstrual disorders, difficult labour, inflammation, vomiting, and throat diseases. Crocus sativus is also used to treat depression. Many medicinal plants textbooks refer to this usage whereas there is no evidence-based document. Our objective was to assess the efficacy of stigmas of Crocus sativus (saffron) in the treatment of mild to moderate depression in a 6-week double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized trial.

Thirty adult outpatients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, for major depression based on the structured clinical interview for DSM IV participated in the trial. All participants provided written informed consent, and the protocol satisfied the Tehran University of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee requirements. Patients had a baseline Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score of at least 18. In this double-blind, single-centre trial, patients were randomly assigned to receive a capsule of saffron 30mg day-1 (twice daily) (Group 1) and a capsule of placebo (twice daily) (Group 2) for a 6-week study. The outcome of the two groups was assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). All patients completed the trial. Patients were assessed by a third year resident of psychiatry at baseline and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 weeks after the medication started. The principal outcome measure was the 17-item HAM-D. The rater used standardized instructions in the use of HAM-D. A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (time-treatment interaction) was used. The two groups as a between-subjects factor (group) and the five measurements during treatment as the within-subjects factor (time) were considered. In addition a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance with a two-tailed post hoc Tukey mean comparison test was performed in the change from baseline in each group. To compare the two groups at baseline and the outcome of two groups at the end of the trial, an unpaired Student's t-test with a two-sided P value was used. To compare the demographic data, Fisher's exact test was performed.

There were no significant differences between the two groups at week 0 (baseline) on the HAM-D (t = 0.34, d.f. = 38, P = 0.73). At 6 weeks, Crocus sativus produced a significantly better outcome on the HAM-D than placebo (d.f. = 1, F = 18.89, P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the two groups in terms of observed side effects. In addition, the difference between the two protocols was significant at week 6 (t = 6.81, d.f. = 38, P < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in the two groups in terms of observed side effects.

The results of this study indicate the efficacy of Crocus sativus in the treatment of mild to moderate depression. A large-scale trial is justified.

1 Demyttenaere K. J Affective Disorders 1997; 43: 27

[coin]

I was about to post that !

[planthelper]

where i'm residing now, spring is here and crocus are in full flower everywhere.

today,i was looking forward to meet somebody and basicly it didn't happen, so i was a little bit upset, but anyway so i started picking the stigmas of a few crocus on the way, and left them in my mouth for a while.

maybe i had about 10 stigmas all up, i wanted to find out if some are stronger than others, because once i did the same last year ago, one single crocus was extreemly sharp and bitter compared to all of the rest...

anyway, allthough fresh crocus doesn't has much flavor and without tasting any much bitter i thought, that nothing will happen, but i guess something did happen because,

"i feel like on a higher dose of 5htp, pretty much cosy in the head, and having a little bit trouble writting this"

conclusion,

fresh saffron might be much stronger than dried material, i am happy that i did not eat anymore, as it feels to me a much higher dose would have got me a bit in trouble.

[t st tantra]

re the study ramon posted,i assume they would have had even better results with a method of injestion that worked better than capsules?

t s t .

[Torsten]

"i feel like on a higher dose of 5htp, pretty much cosy in the head, and having a little bit trouble writting this"

conclusion,

fresh saffron might be much stronger than dried material, i am happy that i did not eat anymore, as it feels to me a much higher dose would have got me a bit in trouble.

Saffron contains two actives.

Crocin and it's derivatives are stable solids and these have the dopaminergic activity. This is what gives saffron the colour.

Safranal is the volatile essential oil and this has the serotonergic activity. Safranal is what gives saffron the aroma.

Freshly picked saffron would be MUCH higher in the essential oil and it may well be that saffron got its reputation as an antidepressant and inebriant in its source countries due to the use of the fresh herbs there. Putting fresh saffron into alcohol would also fix the essential oil - which is one of the traditional medicinal and recreational preparations. The use of fresh saffron would dramatically increase the serotonergic activity.

[Chiral]

Is it still available through the SAB store...?

[DreamingNagual]

I just realised I never sent that article out to you Torsten!

Edit I thought I just found it, But it was a letter for someone else.

I am sure it is still here somewhere tho so I will keep looking!

Edited March 7, 2009 by DreamingNagual